Drag Racing Enthusiast – Pit Board

Letters From Our Avid Readers

Racin’ Down Under
Dear Circle Track,
I’m writing from Western Australia and I have just read through the article “Street Stock Nation” in the Sept. 2009 edition. I couldn’t help but realize how similar the U.S. sedan racing is to ours here in West Aussie in regards to the people and camaraderie.

I don’t know if you are aware or are familiar with our divisions but the people, drivers, and teams here are similar to the U.S., real battlers and everyday people enjoying racing on low budgets. We have a thriving sedan sport here and are very family oriented. My family, for example, all race. My 15-year-old daughter races junior sedans, my 13-year-old son is a quad racer, and my wife and I race senior division sedans.

If you have any questions or would like any info on this subject I would very much welcome the chance to communicate with you further.
Kind regards,
Dave Hall

Dave,
That’s awesome! How bout emailing us some pictures!

Laughing
Dear Circle Track,
I just got the Jan. 2010 issue of Circle Track and the author of the “unsigned” letter in “Q & A”makes me laugh. This guy almost has the right idea. By that, I mean that racers by nature have a “do whatever you have to” attitude. That being said, there are limits . . . don’t take food off the table, make sure you pay your bills first, and so on. I’m in my late 30s and went back to finish college last year. I have been racing for 17 years and driving for 6 years. I finally decided to finish college last fall. I still have two kids at home, a mortgage, bills, blah, blah, blah. We are not rich, not poor. We are very good with money and that has allowed us to do quite a bit with what we have.

I didn’t race in 2009 because it didn’t make sense to race then borrow money for tuition. Additionally, I wanted to start building a new Sportsman car and move up to the 1/2-mile. I won’t race on a 1/2-mile without a head-and-neck restraint, a better seat, and a better fuel cell. I will race again in 2010 or 2011, but not until I have upgraded my safety equipment. I already take a lot of heat because I wear a firesuit, turtleneck underwear, gloves, socks, and shoes.

Now, was I happy about not racing this year? Hell no! I could have raced my Street Stock at the 1/4-mile track I normally run, but I don’t want to race unless I can race how I want. Like you said, if you can’t afford to race, don’t. A friend of mine couldn’t afford his Late Model so he moved down to the Sportsman class. He said he is having fun again and spending less money.

By the way, I think racing is an addiction! I guess the bottom line is, I know that I will race again. When I am done with college, I will be making more money and will be better off . . . it will just take a couple years. It’s worth the sacrifice now to be better prepared in the future. Not only for racing but for my family as well.
Duff

Woo Sprint Costs
Dear Circle Track,
I was wondering if you could answer a question for me? Could you tell me how much (approximately) it costs a team to run a full season of the World of Outlaw Sprint Car Series? And can a team make a good living out of racing in the World of Outlaw Sprint Car Series?
Stephen Laker

Stephen,
Running the full WoO Sprint Car season will cost somewhere around $750,000 to be competitive for the year. With 70 races criss-crossing the country in a time span of about 10 months the biggest and often most overlooked cost factor is the travel and related expenses, such as food, hotel, laundry, and so on. How you roll down the road has a lot to do with how much money you need. The answer to your second question is yes . . . if you have full corporate sponsorship.

January 2010 Issue
Rob,
As a subscriber to Circle Track since the beginning in 1982, I must tell you that I particularly enjoyed the background photo on the cover of the Jan. 2010 issue. The photo must have been taken at the June 29, 1952 Motor City 250 NASCAR race at the Michigan State Fairgrounds. The No. 59 car is a ’52 Chrysler owned by Julian Buesink and being driven by Lloyd Moore. The No. 174 is Bill Rexford in a ’51 Nash.

Buesink, Moore, and Rexford were all from Chautauqua County in Western New York. In 1950, Rexford and Moore were teammates on the two-car NASCAR team owned by Buesink. Rexford won the NASCAR Grand National Championship that season, while Moore finished Fourth in points behind his teammate, Fireball Roberts and Lee Petty. Rexford, 23 years old at the time, remains the youngest champion of NASCAR’s premier division.

All three gentlemen were inducted into the Chautauqua Sports Hall of Fame in honor of their outstanding racing careers. For more detailed infor-mation about these three NASCAR pioneers, including photos, I invite you and the readers of Circle Track to visit our website www.chautauquasportshallofame.org.
Randy Anderson, Vice-President
Chautauqua Sports Hall of Fame
Jamestown, NY

Randy,
Thanks for writing in. You correctly identified that picture according to our archives. Folks, go check out that website for some great vintage racing info!

We’ve Temporarily Removed Comments

As part of our ongoing efforts to make HotRod.com better, faster, and easier for you to use, we’ve temporarily removed comments as well as the ability to comment. We’re testing and reviewing options to possibly bring comments back. As always, thanks for reading HotRod.com.